I'm a professional scavenger making a living selling curbside garbage. This blog details my finds and sales. It also acts as an archive for things beautiful and historic that would otherwise have been destroyed.

Old Husqvarna

I made it out on a trash run late Friday night. I came across this trash pile not far from my place.

I saw one of these odd shaped suitcases and assumed it was a typewriter.

However, it was an old sewing machine! It was made by Husqvarna, a company that I associated more with chainsaws and landscaping companies than sewing machines. From what I see online it was probably made in the 50s or 60s.

I love the aesthetic of the machine and how sturdy (/heavy) it is.

The sewing machine lay in front bazar which supports the Christian nunnery on Mont Royal. I figure someone donated this hoping that it would be fixed up and be put to good use.

Whoever left the sewing machine attached a note indicating how the belt was broken. I think there might be more wrong with it – there were no signs of life when I plugged it in. Unless that’s just me not finding the “on” button.

Edit (12:30am): A reader noted that sewing machines don’t work without the pedal plugged in. I didn’t know that. I tried it out and it powered up normally. With a now lively motor, I Macgyvered a belt out of an old elastic band. The elastic band actually serves the purpose quite well, even if it’s a temporary fix. So, after all that, it looks like the Husqvarna works just fine!

It came with a pedal and some nice old accessories.

I found two boxes full of dishes and decided to stash them in an alley so they wouldn’t be thrown out. I’ll check up on them on Tuesday to see if they’re still around. If anyone wants them check the alley going north off Roy just before Park Lafointaine. I left them next near an electrical box. No guarantees they’re still there though!

A big box of candy on St Hubert. It had passed it’s “best before” dates but didn’t feel especially stale.

A purse was casually thrown on top of this pile of junk. I couldn’t see anything wrong with it!

In the box sitting atop the trash can I found…

…a bunch of canned food. Some had expired, but I (and some of my most experienced readers) know that it’s still good to eat. I had one of the cans of curry for dinner and it was pretty good!

The people inside were clearly packing so I expect this was just stuff they decided wasn’t worth moving. I’ll have to check this place out next trash day to see if there’s anything else they decided they didn’t want.

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8 thoughts on “Old Husqvarna”

i really enjoy your site; loved the husqvarna, it has beautiful elegant lines. hope someone gets it working again.
i don’t hesitate to try most foods that have passed their best before date, but have some concerns about canned foods becoming contaminated by metals leaching out into the food after time…what time frame, i don’t know. would be interested in your thoughts.

I found my sewing machine in the trash as well. It did not work when I got it, but I took it to a repairman and $40 later it is running well. Check out my blog tomorrow. This weekend I turned a drum I found in the trash into a side table for my living room. I will publish the post tomorrow.

Hey ! I have the same model Husqvarna !! The same case and accessory box..it all looks so familiar.And like inkomplete mine is in a green case with a tartan lining. I remember my father getting it for my mother in 1960 for the equivalent of 65 UK Pounds. As I grew up I learned to sew on it and enjoyed using it till the late 90’s. Some of the parts have started showing signs of aging 🙂 and since the parent company in Sweden didn’t show much interest in helping me get it repaired, I had to get the fanciest Bernina I could afford !

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